Redress of Grievances (42 page)

Harriett
was disgusted and looked to see if any of the jurors, particularly the women,
seemed to be equally uncomfortable. Sharon had leaned her head back and was
looking at the ceiling of the courtroom with a smile on her face.

"Had
you and your wife ever had anal intercourse before?"

"No."

"Did
she ask you to stop?"

"She
didn't mean it."

"You
raped her, Mr. Taggart, didn't you?"

"That's
only your interpretation."

"What
did Sharon do afterward?"

"Nothing."

"She
just laid there?"

"She
pulled a cover over herself and went to sleep."

"She
didn't speak to you?"

"No."

"And
what did you do?"

"I
went to sleep."

"Rape
can be pretty exhausting, can't it?" Harriett asked sarcastically. Out of
the corner of her eye, she saw Sean Lassiter start to rise from his chair.
"Withdrawn. Was Sharon in bed when you woke up the next morning, Mr.
Taggart?"

"Yes,"
Frank answered.

Turning
toward the jury, Harriett said, "At some time after eleven in the evening
on January eighteenth, two thousand and six, a bullet went through the
windshield of Leonard Kaufmann's vehicle causing him to lose control of it. He
died instantly as a result of his vehicle colliding with a utility pole."

Turning
back toward Frank, Harriett said, "Did you know that, Mr. Taggart, or were
you too busy sleeping off a night of good sex? No more questions for this
witness, your Honor," Harriett said as she returned to her chair at the
defense table. Waiting for Lassiter to cross-examine Taggart, Harriett looked
at Nick and shrugged. Sharon leaned toward Harriett and touched her arm.

"You
ever done it that way, Harriett?" Sharon whispered.

"No,
Jan. I haven't."

Chapter
Forty-Two

AFTER
A TWO-hour recess for lunch, Harriett called to the stand the witness she had
been dreading since the trial began.

"Defense
calls Alexis Dunne to the stand," Harriett announced.

Harriett
avoided looking at the prosecution table as she waited for Alex to enter the
courtroom and be sworn in. As she looked down at her notes, Nick reached behind
Sharon and tapped Harriett on the shoulder.

Leaning
back, he said, "Do you want me to take this one?"

"Thanks.
I can handle it."

"You
sure?"

"Yeah,"
she smiled. "It's okay."

By
the time Harriett looked at Alex, she was seated and taking a deep breath. They
both already knew what was coming, and Harriett planned to get through her
questions as quickly as possible.

"Ms.
Dunne, do you know the defendant, Sharon Collins Taggart?"

"Yes.
My law firm handles legal matters for Taggart Industries in Dallas, and her
brother is engaged to my sister."

"Have
you ever had an occasion to spend time alone with Mrs. Taggart?"

"I
met Mrs. Taggart during her brother's campaign for the state legislature two
years ago. I enjoyed her company several times after that."

"As
a result, did you and my client become intimate?"

Alex's
jaw tightened and for a fleeting moment, Harriett wished it hadn't been
necessary to ask the question. "We became involved in a sexual
relationship that lasted approximately a year," Alex answered as she
looked at Sharon.

"When
was the last time you saw Mrs. Taggart?"

"She
called my office and asked if she could see me regarding a legal matter just
after Thanksgiving of last year."

"Did
she indicate what the legal matter was?"

"She
said she was considering a divorce and wanted to know her legal options
concerning the division of their property and custody of their two
children."

"Did
your secretary schedule an appointment for Mrs. Taggart?"

"Mrs.
Taggart asked to speak directly to me. I explained that my appointment calendar
was booked until the following week, but finally agreed to meet with her at my office
the evening of December first. About six-thirty."

"What
happened when Mrs. Taggart arrived at your office, Ms. Dunne?"

"We
discussed the Taggart's property holdings and other assets, which were fairly
negligible. I told her I didn't think she would have any problem being awarded
custody of her children. Certainly, her parents had the financial resources to
tie Mr. Taggart up in court for months, and I didn't believe he would be able
financially to challenge her custody claim."

"Did
anything else transpire during your meeting?"

"Sharon
and I had a sexual liaison in my office afterward," Alex stated.

Clearing
her voice slightly, Harriett asked, "What, if anything, happened after you
and Mrs. Taggart were intimate?" She couldn't bring herself to look at Alex
as she asked the question and pretended to look over her notes on the table.
Turning her head slightly, she saw Sharon look up at her and smile. Returning
her attention to Alex, Harriett said, "Ms. Dunne?"

"Afterward,
as callous as it must have seemed, I told Sharon that the relationship between
us was a mistake. It should never have happened. I knew better, but allowed
myself to be seduced anyway."

"What
was her reaction when you told her it had been a mistake?"

"At
first she laughed. Then when she realized I was serious, she became distant.
She left about ten minutes later."

"Do
you remember what time Sharon left your office?"

"Not
exactly, but I believe it must have been around nine or nine-thirty."

Turning
to face the jury, Harriett said, "And at eleven-thirty that same night,
Elizabeth Pennington died in an automobile accident on the freeway. No further
questions, your Honor."

"Cross,
Mr. Lassiter?" Landers asked.

"I
have no questions for this witness, your Honor," he said.

HARRIETT
WAS LOOKING forward to a long weekend. Before the first witness of the fifth
day could be called, Landers had announced that trial would not resume until
the following Tuesday due to a personal family matter, which would take him out
of town. She had already elicited and heard enough sickening testimony in just
four days to last her a lifetime and would enjoy the three-day break with Jess.
Since the trial had begun, no other unusual events had occurred either to her
or Lacey.

Rising
from her seat, Harriett said, "Your Honor, the defense calls Parker
Collins."

Collins
entered the courtroom and walked directly to the witness chair to be sworn in.
Harriett was amazed at how calm he appeared despite the fact that everyone in
the courtroom was already aware of what he had been accused of, including his
fiancee, Paige Dunne.

"Permission
to treat the witness as hostile, your Honor," Harriett requested.

"Granted,"
Landers ruled.

"Senator
Collins," Harriett began as he took his seat, "we've already heard four
days of testimony concerning abuse suffered by your sister when she was a
child."

"I
did not molest my sister, Ms. Markham," Collins said, shaking his head.
"She's made up stories like that since she was little to get my parents'
attention."

"Are
you telling this court that your sister was not abused?"

"She's
always told my mother lies about me. I can't put up with them any more, not
even to save Sharon from prison."

Squinting
slightly, Harriett asked, "Are you aware, sir, that we have sworn
affidavits from two of your high school friends saying that they sodomized and
sexually molested Sharon from the time she was six until she was at least
thirteen? And that both claim they paid you money for the privilege of doing
that?"

Collins's
face slowly drained of color as he searched for a response.

"That's
a lie," he finally said. "Sharon was raped by one of my friends when
she was twelve or thirteen, but I didn't find out about that until after it was
over."

"Is
that when you took her to Dr. Wilder?"

"Yes.
I'm sure Sharon had to have been traumatized by the rape, and now she's dumping
all of that over onto me. I should have been watching her more closely, but I
thought I could trust my friends."

"Sharon
thought she could trust you, sir. Guess you were both wrong. Which one of your
friends do you claim raped Sharon?" Harriett asked.

"I
don't remember now. It's been a long time ago."

"How
about Jerry Phelps?" Harriett asked as she picked up a legal pad from her
desk.

"Or
maybe Raul Santiago? Or David Curtis? Or Steven Lanier? Are any of these names
ringing a bell for you, Senator?"

"They
knew Sharon had been raped."

"Which
one raped her!" Harriett demanded.

"Phelps
did."

"Isn't
it convenient that Jerry Phelps is dead now and can't dispute your story?"
Then she smiled slightly, "But then there are Thad Larabee and Jacob
Meier. They have a slightly different story, although Meier did mention
Phelps."

"Then
Jake can tell you Phelps raped Sharon."

"Actually
he did tell the court that happened. And he knows because he was in the room
when the rape occurred."

"I
didn't know that," Collins frowned.

"Then
you must have a profound memory loss because Meier swears you were there
also."

"That's
not true," Collins said.

Standing
up quickly and placing her hands on the defense table, Harriett said,
"Didn't you leave Sharon alone with two of your friends, and thereby
allowed Jerry Phelps to brutally rape her?"

Collins
shot out of his chair. "That's a fucking lie!"

"Sit
down, Mr. Collins!" Landers ordered.

Harriett
waited for Collins to compose himself.

"Sharon
herself corroborates Mr. Meier's story."

"Sharon's
crazy," Collins blurted out.

"Isn't
it true that you charged your friends a fee to have sexual intercourse with your
own sister? And that you, and you alone, ensured that she cooperated by holding
her down on the bed and threatening her if she screamed?"

"No...that's
a lie," Collins stated. "Sharon never objected, and I was never paid
any money by my friends."

"In
other words, you only watched while your friends violated your sister over and
over and over, for free, for nearly seven years just because you were being a
good host. Is that your testimony, Senator?"

Collins
slumped back in the chair. Harriett looked at the faces of the jury members and
walked back to the defense table.

"No
further questions of this witness, your Honor."

"The
prosecution has no questions for this witness, your Honor," Lassiter said
quietly.

Standing
at the defense table, Harriett said, "Your Honor, I move Parker Collins be
arrested and charged with perjury, based on his testimony in this courtroom
today."

Nodding
slightly, Landers said, "Bailiff, take Senator Collins into custody on the
charge of perjury."

"Thank
you, your Honor. The defense rests."

Chapter
Forty-Three

HARRIETT
WAS TIRED as she pulled herself up from her desk and stretched. The Taggart
case was taking its toll on her, and she knew it. The remainder of the
afternoon and into the evening she had worked on her preliminary closing
remarks. Lately, she had begun to believe she needed to take some time away
from her practice and devote more time to herself and her new relationship with
Jess. Carrying her coffee cup into the kitchen of the office, she washed it and
placed it in the drainer. A few minutes later, she finished picking up a few
things in the kitchen and returned to her office for her briefcase. She wanted
to immerse herself in Jess's Jacuzzi, soak away her problems and make love with
Jess...several times. She glanced at her wristwatch and smiled. Jess was sure
to be in the middle of preparing dinner.

She
was only a step or two into her office when she was grabbed roughly from behind
and a hand clamped over her mouth. Quickly, whoever grabbed her spun her around
and pushed her hard against a wall, momentarily stunning her. The hand covered
her mouth again, but this time she felt a stinging sensation under her chin and
froze.

"If
you try to scream, the sound will never make it out of your mouth. I guarantee
it," a man whispered.

Terrified,
Harriett tried to remain calm, but it was a losing battle. Her head was
pounding from hitting the wall. She blinked her eyes open and felt a shiver run
up her spine as they focused on the man in front of her and widened in stunned
surprise.

"Happy
to see me again, Harriett?" Jared Wilkes asked with a grin. "Do you
know how many times I've dreamed of this moment?"